Mark Morris (ice hockey)

Mark Morris (born March 31, 1958) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He was the head coach of St. Lawrence from 2016-2019, succeeding Greg Carvel who departed for UMass.

Mark Morris
Morris in 2006
Born (1958-03-31) March 31, 1958 (age 66)
Massena, NY, USA
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb)
Position Defense
Played for New Haven Nighthawks (AHL)
Dallas Black Hawks (CHL)
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 1981–1984
Coaching career
Playing career
1977–1981Colgate
Position(s)Defenseman
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1984–1985Union (assistant)
1985–1988St. Lawrence (assistant)
1988–2002Clarkson
2003Vancouver Canucks (assistant)
2003–2004Saginaw Spirit (assistant)
2004–2006Northwood School Prep
2006–2014Manchester Monarchs
2014–2015Florida Panthers (assistant)
2015–2016Charlotte Checkers
2016–2019St. Lawrence
Head coaching record
Overall337–225–53 (.591)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
1991 ECAC Hockey Regular Season
1991 ECAC Hockey Tournament
1993 ECAC Hockey Tournament
1995 ECAC Hockey Regular Season
1997 ECAC Hockey Regular Season
1999 ECAC Hockey Regular Season
1999 ECAC Hockey Tournament
2001 ECAC Hockey Regular Season
Awards
1991 ECAC Hockey Coach of the Year
2001 ECAC Hockey Coach of the Year

Career

edit

Morris played four seasons (19811984) of professional hockey, mostly with the New Haven Nighthawks of the American Hockey League (AHL), where he scored 9 goals and 33 assists for 42 points, with 146 penalty minutes, in 156 AHL games played.

Following his playing career, Morris turned to coaching and found his way to Clarkson. He became the Golden Knights most successful coach winning more games, regular season titles, tournament titles and reaching more NCAA tournaments than anyone in school history.[1]

In November 2002, Morris was fired three games into the 2002-03 season following an on-ice incident with one of his own players. Clarkson president Denny Brown said that in light of both the incident and Morris' refusal to take part in an internal investigation that had taken place, Clarkson had no choice but to fire Morris immediately.[2]

In professional hockey, Morris began his professional coaching career under Marc Crawford, serving from February 2003 to April 2003 as the Special Assistant Coach/Interim Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Vancouver Canucks of the NHL. Then, after a two-year stint at a prep school in Lake Placid, Morris landed a job with the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League in 2006. He spent eight years as head coach, compiling a record of 339-223-67, making him the only coach in history with over 300 wins in both the college and professional ranks.[3]

In 2016 Morris returned to the college game, taking over at St. Lawrence, which is less than 10 miles from Clarkson University, and attempted to try and continue the success he had in the 1990s. After a good first season Morris found himself mired in an NCAA investigation that alleged multiple serious rules violations but after three months he was cleared on all but one minor infraction.[4] In his third season Morris posted the second-worst record in program history, including the most losses for any Saints team, and was unsurprisingly fired at the end of the postseason.[5]

Head coaching record

edit

College[6]

edit
Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Clarkson Golden Knights (ECAC Hockey) (1988–2003)
1988–89 Clarkson 16–13–3 13–7–2 4th ECAC Quarterfinals
1989–90 Clarkson 21–11–3 12–7–3 t-3rd ECAC Semifinals
1990–91 Clarkson 29–9–2 15–5–2 1st NCAA Frozen Four
1991–92 Clarkson 22–10–1 16–6–1 t-2nd ECAC Semifinals
1992–93 Clarkson 20–10–5 12–6–4 t-3rd NCAA East regional quarterfinals
1993–94 Clarkson 20–9–5 13–5–4 2nd ECAC third-place game (win)
1994–95 Clarkson 23–10–4 14–5–3 1st NCAA East regional quarterfinals
1995–96 Clarkson 25–10–3 16–4–2 2nd NCAA East regional semifinals
1996–97 Clarkson 27–10–0 17–5–0 1st NCAA East regional semifinals
1997–98 Clarkson 23–9–3 16–4–2 2nd NCAA East regional quarterfinals
1998–99 Clarkson 25–11–1 18–4–0 1st NCAA East regional semifinals
1999–00 Clarkson 17–15–3 9–8–3 t-4th ECAC Four vs. Five
2000–01 Clarkson 21–11–3 15–5–2 1st ECAC Quarterfinals
2001–02 Clarkson 17–15–6 11–6–5 2nd ECAC third-place game (loss)
2002–03 Clarkson 0–3–0 † 0–1–0 †
Clarkson: 306–156–42 198–78–34
St. Lawrence Saints (ECAC Hockey) (2016–2019)
2016–17 St. Lawrence 17–13–7 12–6–4 4th ECAC Quarterfinals
2017–18 St. Lawrence 8–27–2 3–18–1 12th ECAC first round
2018–19 St. Lawrence 6–29–2 3–17–2 12th ECAC first round
St. Lawrence: 31–69–11 18–41–7
Total: 337–225–53

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

† Morris was fired mid-season [7]

References

edit
  1. ^ "Clarkson Men's Hockey Team History". USCHO.com. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
  2. ^ http://www.seattletimes.com/sports/college-hockey-coach-mark-morris-one-of-a-kind/-->]
  3. ^ http://www.seattletimes.com/sports/college-hockey-coach-mark-morris-one-of-a-kind/-->]
  4. ^ "College hockey: SLU head coach Morris cleared of nearly all improprieties". Watertown Daily Times. February 7, 2018. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  5. ^ "St. Lawrence Fires Mark Morris". College Hockey news. March 29, 2019. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  6. ^ "Mark Morris Year-by-Year Coaching Record". USCHO.com. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  7. ^ "2013–14 Clarkson hockey Media Guide". ISSUU.com. Retrieved August 15, 2014.

https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/college-hockey-coach-mark-morris-one-of-a-kind/

edit
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Tim Taylor Award
1990–91
2000–01
Succeeded by